RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS

Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters reacts to
Supreme Court ban

The date of 20 April 2017 has a chance to enter
into history
as a black day for fundamental human freedoms in Russia. Today the
Supreme
Court made the decision to liquidate the centralized religious
organization of
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, as well as all 395 local religious
organizations
of this religion. In historical perspective, this decision may
lead to the
saddest consequences for all believers of various religious
confessions, as
well as for the image of Russia in the world arena. A quashing of
this decision
in the appellate instance-- a panel consisting of three Supreme
Court
judges—may save the situation.

Believers have already begun to prepare the
appellate request,
which should be considered within a month.

Meanwhile concern about the actions of the
Ministry of
Justice and also about the decision of the court of the first
instance is being
expressed by numerous organizations both within Russia as well as
beyond its
borders. "This judicial lawsuit poses a threat not only for
Jehovah's Witnesses
but also for individual liberty on the whole in the Russian
federation,"
special reporters of the United Nations declared, acting within
the framework
of a mandate received from the Council for Human Rights of the
UNO. "We
call upon the authorities, following their obligations according
to
international law in the area of human rights, to halt judicial
proceedings and
to reconsider the legislation about the struggle with extremism
and the
practice of its application." (tr. by PDS, posted 20 April 2017)

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